Escape

"Everyone wants to escape difficulty and travail. Yet, the more you escape difficulty, the farther you are from Knowledge."

"What is being called for is the activation of Knowledge. That is what everyone is moving towards because it is the escape from pain. It is the escape from ambivalence, which is pain. It is the escape from choice. It is the escape from conflict."

"I’ll tell you a story. Long ago, when I was learning to follow, I had to receive a Teacher such as myself, who was not visible to my eyes, in the face of very severe circumstances in the world. My people were fleeing a defeat of our nation, and we were all heading for another land in the Mediterranean area. Yet a Teacher appeared and said, 'No. I want you to go back into the heart of those pursuing you.' I thought this was madness. It seemed certain death to me to do this, but I felt I could not deny the Teacher, not only because of my reverence for the Teacher, but because I knew I must follow this. I turned and returned. The pursuing armies did not even see me. I passed through them like a knife passes through water. I was not invisible; I had no magical powers, but I did not expose myself unnecessarily. It was a good thing I turned back, or I would have been destroyed, for those I was fleeing with were caught and executed. No one expected me to return. Therefore, my escape went unnoticed. I returned to my former city and took refuge and allowed things to quiet down. Then I began my preparation with my Teacher. Because I was a doctor, I could practice my craft under the new government with some degree of license and freedom. It was there that I began to teach Knowledge because I was following Knowledge."

See also

Escapism

Further study

• The Great Waves of Change, Chapter 3: Escaping the Past

• Living The Way of Knowledge, Chapter 11: Preparing for the Future

• Wisdom from the Greater Community, Book 1, Chapter 8: Preparing for the Future